Guild Wars 2

So for PvE if I want to be effective in group play am I stuck using GS or A/A, or is there another viable PvE option? I’m really not a fan of either weapon set and was wondering if I should just retire from PvE and slink off into just WvW or SPvP where other weapons are actually viable.

GS is king in PvE due to mobs just standing still and eating your #2 skill. Come join your brothers and sisters in WvW and grab a sword/shield/longbow/hammer or whatever you want and play against real people just like you! It will be challenging at first but you’ll see you skill level shoot-up pretty fast unless you just want to be a 100% zerg-bot (not that there’s anything wrong with that).

Flintbrow.7985:

GS is king in PvE due to mobs just standing still and eating your #2 skill.

This is not true, it leaves the player vulnerable too. The greatsword is so good – especially in PUGs – because of the Forceful Greatsword trait, giving the Warrior many, many stacks of self-Might, causing higher damage. If Might can be outsourced, usually through an Ele, Axe/x is higher DPS.

I’ve recently got into the habit of not using the Greatsword, it’s just not very good apart from mobility.

@OP, If you don’t like the mainhand Axe or the Greatsword, hang up your Warrior in PVE as anything else is simply a detriment to the group.

“I’ve recently got into the habit of not using the Greatsword, it’s just not very good apart from mobility.”

Wat…

I don’t know what you’re on about, but in my solo Arah P3 runs I very VERY frequently hit above 46k on Wraithlord crusher with hundred blades final strike and easily above 52k on the hunter. Highest I’ve hit on crusher before was ~50k and highest on hunter was 60k, SOLO. Forceful greatsword IS the most significant trait here, but there is absolutely no way in hell that you can convince me that axe autoattack chain is better DPS. Whirlwind serves as an evasion AND incredible damage, so I’m not sure what you’re on about with “leaving the player more vulnerable” and GS #5 hits a ton of damage as well— nearly as much as eviscarate.

Greatsword not being good? Don’t be silly. :P

Well, the best dps is using 100b on cooldown and swapping to axe AA. Just sitting on GS waiting for 100b using the AA and 4/5 skills is a huge waste in DPS. You can use whirlwind after 100b if you’re on a wall for good dps too.

Also, wouldn’t bother with axe off hand. 5 skill is lower dps than AA. I would use something like the shield, warhorn or even sword.

Shanks.2907:

Well, the best dps is using 100b on cooldown and swapping to axe AA. Just sitting on GS waiting for 100b using the AA and 4/5 skills is a huge waste in DPS. You can use whirlwind after 100b if you’re on a wall for good dps too.

Also, wouldn’t bother with axe off hand. 5 skill is lower dps than AA. I would use something like the shield, warhorn or even sword.

Not true. Pure Axe is much better if you can outsource Might. In the 30/25 meta, the Greatsword is there to pump out the Might stacks while doing good damage. If the Might stacks are not needed, pure Axe is better.

Purple Miku.7032:

“I’ve recently got into the habit of not using the Greatsword, it’s just not very good apart from mobility.”

Wat…

I don’t know what you’re on about, but in my solo Arah P3 runs I very VERY frequently hit above 46k on Wraithlord crusher with hundred blades final strike and easily above 52k on the hunter. Highest I’ve hit on crusher before was ~50k and highest on hunter was 60k, SOLO. Forceful greatsword IS the most significant trait here, but there is absolutely no way in hell that you can convince me that axe autoattack chain is better DPS. Whirlwind serves as an evasion AND incredible damage, so I’m not sure what you’re on about with “leaving the player more vulnerable” and GS #5 hits a ton of damage as well— nearly as much as eviscarate.

Greatsword not being good? Don’t be silly. :P

Again, because of Forceful Greatsword. A big number =/= good DPS, take into cast times. Of course, 100B IS good DPS, but not as good as pure axe if you get 25 Might stacks elsewhere. The evasion = mobility, I gave credit to that.

As for leaving the player more vulnerable, you either eat hits while casting 100B (R.I.P Scholar runes, or R.I.P you in any Fractal worth a dam), or horribly kitten your damage by interrupting it.

Pure Axe is mathematically better DPS than 30/25 GS|Axe/Mace with a Might stacking party. I use GS|A/m in PUGs, but when I have my organised team with Might stacks, pure Axe is better damage.

Sorry, but you didn’t clarify all of these things in the post that I replied to. If you look at what you typed…

“I’ve recently got into the habit of not using the Greatsword, it’s just not very good apart from mobility.”

It might make a little more sense why I responded that way. With your last post you pretty much stated that it IS good and went on to clarify that as long as you’re maintaining ~25 stacks of might then it’s not the best DPS. In this circumstance, I agree with you. I also use axe AA more often in groups. Everything is trivialized and dies fast enough to the point where it hardly matters though, honestly.

Clarifying that to begin with would’ve been a good idea. Greatsword is by far the best primary weapon for someone soloing though ;P

Play what you want. There is literally zero reason to min/max in this game, as surviving encounters with something you are comfortable playing is FAR more important than raw numbers on a build you don’t like (and could get you killed).

The difference between pure optimized cookie cutter dungeon groups vs. A group playing whatever they want is the difference between mere minutes of playtime. That’s really all.